Exhaust box



April 10, 1934. J, 4T, TUCKER 1,954,372

EXHAUST BOX Filed March 31. 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet l nf^^ mfy INVENTOR. Jofzn T Tile/@er A TTORNEYS.

April 10, 1934. 1 T TUCKER 1,954,372

EXHAUST BOX Filed March 51, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN1/EN TOR. `/0/727 TYCZI" J. T. TUCKER April 1o, 1934.

EXHAUST'BOX Filed March 31, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IWI mHrhH INVENTOR. -./o/7fz 7." Ybczer A TTORNEYS.

April 10, 1934. J. T. TUCKER 1,954,372

EXHAUST BOX Filed Maron 51, 195o 5 sheets-sheet 4 h` J mi 6/ j) 1 @n f gf F1E IN1/EN TOR. `/ojzn 7.- Waker ATTORNEYS.

April 10, 1934. J. T. TUCKER 1,954,372

' EXHAUST BOX 5 Sheets-Sheet` 5 Filed March 3l, 1950 IN VEN TOR.

T TORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 10, 1934 UNITED STTES PATENT; OFFICE Application March 31,

11 Claims.

in which a plurality of gear wheels are situated.

Usually the gear wheels are disposed in a single horizontal plane and are interengaged to provide a continuous platform with successive portions meshing to revolve in opposite directions. Such Y exhaust boxes also include `guides for directing the cans of material in a tortuous path through the box as they rest upon the gear wheels. Such mechanisms are effective to produce the desired length of travel in a relatively small floor area but are disadvantageous in that there are a large number of wearing parts which must frequently be replaced and further are disadvantageous in that they are relatively expensive. It has also been attempted to employ chain conveyors for exhaust boxes but the vpresence of steam and elevated temperatures usually results in rapid wearing of the conveyor chains so that the mechanism .quickly becomes unsatisfactorily operative and requires frequent inspection and repair.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide an exhaust box which is long lived and inexpensive.

' Another object of my invention is to provide a relatively long path for the cans' of material at the same time occupying only a small amount of floor space. Another object of my invention is to reduce materially the number of `wearing parts in an exhaust box so that replacements, if necessary, are infrequent and inexpensive.

The foregoing and other objects are attained in the embodiment of the invention `shown in the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan of an exhaust box constructed in accordance with my invention, the top'portion 4of the housing being removed to disclose the interior construction.

Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 2 -2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail showing in plan one of the plates with portions being broken away.

Fig. 4 is a motion study showing in plan the path of alcan through the machine.

Fig. 5 is a plan fof the 'interior of a modified form of exhaust box in accordance with myinvention Fig. i6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing an additionally modi-fied form of my exhaust'box.

Fig. 7 is a cross section on the line 7-7 of 1930, Serial No. 440,282

Fig. 8 is a plan of an exhaust box of modified form, the top of the housing being removed to disclose the interior.

Fig. 9 is a cross section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

In its preferred form, the exhaust box of my invention includes a housing within which a pair of plates is disposed in position for carrying cans. The device also includes means for imparting a rotary parallel motion to the plates so that in cooperation with relatively stationary guides the plates, by virtue of a major motion component in a predetermined direction propel the cans through the housing in a predetermined tortuous path.

Although the exhaust box of my invention is applicable to a wide variety of environments and can be variously constructed in accordance with various conditions I preferably dispose it herein in one of its preferred forms. As disclosed particularly in Fig. 1 I provide a housing 6 which includes a suitable framework 7 for supporting the housing and provides a substantially closed interior chamber 8. Within the chamber are usually situated a heating means, such as steam coils, not shown, but since this heating means is well Within the field of customary practice I have shown no particular form thereof herein. At one end of the housing 6 I preferably dispose `within the chamber ,8 a series of eccentric plates 9 and 11. The eccentric plates are substantially identical and a description of one of them will sullice. The eccentric plates such as 9 include a circular disc 12 provided with a box 13 eccentrically disposed with respect thereto and adapted to receive a vertical stub shaft 14 mounted in a suitable 'journal 16 fastened to the framework 7 The eccentric plate and the stub shaft 14 preferably revolve in unison and to that end are held together by pins 17. At the lower end of the stub shaft 14 a bevel gear 18 is mounted.

To drive alternate ones of the bevel gears 18 in opposite directions but in a predetermined phase relationship I preferably mesh each of them with a related bevel gear 19 fastened to a cross shaft 21 journaled in the framework 7. As disclosed in Fig. 2, alternate ones of the gears 19 are re,- versely placed on the shaft 21 and mesh on opposite sides of alternate gears 18 so that the alternate shafts 14 are properly driven in opposite directions. For revolving 4shaft 21 there is provided a sprocket 22 at one extremity thereof which is connected by a chain 23 to a sprocket 24 on a cross shaft 26 adjacent the central portion of the framework and provided with a belt pulley 28 connected to a suitable source of power, not shown.

An exactly similar series of eccentric discs 29 is provided at the far end of the housing 6 and is driven in proper phase relationship to the discs a 9 and 11 by means of a sprocket chain 31 engaging a sprocket 32 on a driving shaft 33 and also engaging a sprocket 34 on the cross shaft 26.

Mounted on respective pairs of eccentric discs are longitudinal plates 36 and 37 extending substantially for the entire length of the chamber 8 and situated in close proximity to each other.

Each of the plates 36 and 37 is constructed with Vopposite in direction to the major component of direction longitudinally of the machine of the intermediate plates.

To cooperate with the plates 36 and 37 in guiding cans of material such as 41 through the exhaust box of my invention, I provide a plurality of parallel guides 42 preferably suspended from the cover 43 of the housing 6 and spaced to lie approximately midway of the height of the cans 41. Alternate ones of the guides 42 are curved at opposite ends as at 43 and 44 to' dene a tortuous path from the inlet 47 of the machine through the chamber 8 to the outlet 48 of the exhaust box.

During the operation of the machine a can,

lsuch as 41, placed on the plate 37 between a pair of guides 42 is propelled in the direction of the arrows 51 during the time that the major component of motion of the plate 37 is longitudinally of the machine in the desired direction. Upon further rotation of the eccentric discs 9 and V11 the direction component in the predetermined path of the plate 37 gradually reduces and becomes transverse to the longitudinal axis of the exhaust box. The can 41 is thus borne toward the guide 42 directly above the eccentric disc 11. At the same time the plate 36 being driven with a rotary parallel motion but in the opposite sense of rotation gradually projects itself beneath the guide 42 directly above the eccentric disc 9 and follows the plate 37 transversely of the housing 6. Thus as the plate 37 withdraws substantially transversely from beneath the can 41 the plate 36 inserts itself beneath the can 41 until such time that its major component of motion is in the predetermined direction as indicated by the arrow 51. This advances the can 41 further in the desired direction and tends to cause it to bear against the guide 42 above the eccentric plate 9. The plates 37 and 36 alternate in withdrawing from beneath the can 41 and inserting themselves thereunder so that the rotary parallel motion imparted to them is productive of an advancing movement in the desired direction of the can 41 as indicated by the sinous line 52 in Fig. 4. By rotary parallel motion as used in this description and in the claims, I mean that each point of a plate, such as 36 and 37, moves in a circle about its own individual center, and thus any line bounding or on the plate is, in any position, always parallel to itself in any other position it assumes during movement of the plate.

As the can attains one end of the channel defined by the guides 42 between which it starts into the housing 6 it encounters the curved barile 44 and rounds the end of the guide 42 to travel in the opposite direction toward the initial end of the device. The can thus follows a tortuous path through the chamber 8 and is finally discharged at the outlet end 48 of the machine.

I have found that in practice a plurality of cans progressing through the exhaust box of my invention tend to become more widely spaced than desired as they round the ends of the guides 42 and for that reason I have provided an expedient illustrated in Fig. 5, in which the plates 61 and 62 are arranged as before with superposed guides 63 and 64 depending from the cover of the casing 66. Instead of the guides 63 being continuous adjacent their ends I preferably interrupt them to provide apertures 67 slightly spaced from the termination of the guides 63 so that cans travelling between the guides and in the proper position can pass through the opening and imf mediately be positioned on the opposite side of the guide in question without passing entirely around the end thereof. l

An arrangement for the same purpose is disclosed in Figs. Band 7 in which alternate plates 71 and 72 are disposed in a casing 73 from the cover of which guides 74 and 76 depend. Also depending from the cover of the casing 73 and preferably situated between the guides 74 and 76 and the plates 71 and 72 are revolving spider wheels 78 having a plurality of arms adapted when revolved to engage the cans on the plate and propel them positively from one plate to the next around the end of the guides;

In Figs. 8 and 9 I show a simplified form of y the exhaust box of my invention which is useful when extreme low cost is desired. In this form of my invention I preferably provide a casing 79 of the. general character previously described.

Passing through the bottom of the casing is a pair of stub shafts 80 and 81 for driving eccentric discs 82 and 83 as mentioned previously. 'Ihe stub shafts are practically Videntical in all respects with those shown in the modification of Fig. 1 and are driven by a cross shaft 84 in an n Connected to the two eccenidentical manner. tric discs 82 and 83 is a cross bar 85 which is journalled at either end by rings 86 on the eccentric discs and partakes of a rotary parallel motion. Spaced from the eccentric discs 82 and 83 are eccentric discs 87 and 88 driven through` stub shafts 89 and a cross shaft 90 in a rotary parallel path with opposite direction motion but with the same phase relationship as disclosed in Fig. 1. The shafts 90 and 84 are driven in synchronism by a chain 91. l

Situated on the cross bar 85 are alternate plates 92 which are rigidly fastened to the cross bar at Aone end and at the other end run on a bearing plate 93 supported in the housing 79.

Between the plates 92 are plates 94 which are rigidly connected to a cross bar 96 fastened to the eccentric discs 87 and 88. The plates 94 at their opposite extremities likewise run on bearing plates 93.` Upon operation of the shafts 84 and 90 the eccentric discs impart to the plates 92 and 94 the same type of motion imparted to the plates disclosed in Fig. 1 and the general operation of the device is identical with the mechanism therein shown.

In accordance with my invention I have pron vided an exhaust box which possesses far fewer parts than any of the exhaust boxes now in commercial use and one which is capable of handling a large number of cans with a minimum of floor space. Further, the parts utilized are relatively simple and cheap to manufacture. Further the entire exhaust box is easily dismantled for repair or inspection.

It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the form of the exhaust box shown and described herein, as the invention, as set forth in the following claims may be embodied in a plurality of forms.

I claim:

l. An exhaust box comprising a housing, a pair of plates for carrying cans in said housing, means for bodily moving said plates together in longitudinal and lateral directions and with relative longitudinal movement With respect to each other, and stationary guides in said housing for confining said cans to a predetermined path of ravel.

2. An exhaust box comprising a housing, a pair of plates for carrying cans in said housing, means for bodily moving said plates together in longitudinal and lateral directions and with relative longitudinal movement with respect to each other, and a pair of parallel stationary guides in said housing for confining said cans to a predetermined path of travel.

3. An exhaust box comprising a housing, a pair of parallel plates for carrying cans in said housing, a pair of parallel guides in said housing, and means for alternately moving said plates into a position beneath said guides, the motion of said plates in said position having a major component in a predetermined direction.

4. An exhaust box comprising a housing, a pair of parallel plates in said housing, rings on said plates, eccentrics rotatable in said rings, and means for driving said eccentrics in opposite directions.

5. An exhaust box comprising a frame, a housing on said frame, a pair of parallel plates in said housing, rings on said plates, eccentric discs rotatable in said rings, stub shafts journalled in said frame and secured to said eccentric discs, and means for driving said shafts in opposite directions.

6. An exhaust box comprising a pair of elongated plates in close transverse proximity, rings adjacent one end of each of said plates, eccentric discs rotatable in said rings, stub shafts eccentrically joined to said discs, and means for rotating said shafts in opposite directions.

7. An exhaust box comprising a frame, a pair of elongated plates, rings adjacent one end of each of said plates, eccentric discs rotatable in said rings, stub shafts eccentrically joined to said discs and journalled in said frame, means for rotating said shafts in opposite directions, and guides on said frame and overlying said plates.

8. An exhaust box comprising a frame, a housing on said frame, a pair of plates in said housing, rings adjacent one end of each of said plates,

ccen ric discs rotatable in said rings, means for rotating said discs in opposite directions, and guides in said housing and overlying said plates.

9. An exhaust box comprising a pair of guides, and a plate constrained to move into a position beneath said guides with a rotary parallel motion.

10. An exhaust box comprising can guiding means, an elongated plate for supporting cans which are guided by said means, and means for moving said plate relative to said means with a motion such that said plate remains parallel to itself and every point on said plate moves in a circular path having a xed radius.

11. An exhaust box comprising a plate adapted to move With a motion such that said plate remains parallel to itself and every point on said plate moves in a circular path having a fixed radius, and means for guiding cans supported by said plate.

JOHN T. TUCKER. 

